Friday, August 11, 2017

Cruel (2014) - Foreign Film Friday



Number Rolled: 69
Movie Name/Year: Cruel (2014)
Tagline: None
Genre: Thriller, Crime, Horror
Length: 113 minutes
Rating: NR
Production Companies: De Pure Fiction, Walter Films, Region Midi-Pyrenees, Centre National de la Cinematographie (CNC)
Producer: Xavier Arias, Eric Cherriere, Isabel Desesquelles, Vincent Munie
Director: Eric Cherriere
Writer: Eric Cherriere
Actors: Jean-Jacques Lelte, Magali Moreau, Maurice Poli, Yves Afonso, Hans Meyer, Olivia Kerverdo, Matila Malliarakis, Richard Duval, Stephane Henon, Michele Gary, Sabine Zovighian, Christophe Lafargue
Stunt Doubles: None

Blurb from Netflix: Pierre’s lonely life is interrupted by memories of killing people. When his murderous urge conflicts with a romance, he’s driven to the brink.


Selina’s Point of View:
The boredom is so real.

I felt like I had been watching the film for two hours, so I checked… and I was only half-way in. I don’t care what language this was in, it was unbearable to watch.

Now, I don’t hate the noir genre. I’ve written stuff for that particular genre. So, don’t look at this as though I hate all films that follow the same kind of path. I don’t. This one was just so slow and predictable.


The characters were difficult to identify with – all of them. The script went six different directions at once, making it difficult to pin down what was true and what wasn’t, or even what was important.

I understand that the writer was likely going for a confused onlooker feel for the audience… but since there was no real resolution to any of that, it just felt pointless.

This movie was a waste of time to watch.


Cat’s Point of View:
The best thing I can say about this movie is that I’m so very glad I’ve finished watching it and never have to do so again.

Does that sound harsh? I’m not really trying to be, but good lord this film bored me to tears. About halfway through, I started checking the progress bar every so often. It was almost excruciating to sit through the whole thing.

I fail to see where this movie fits either the thriller or horror genres. It plays out as a crime drama at a snail’s pace. My pulse didn’t pound and I wasn’t at the edge of my seat.


Events were largely predictable once the main character established what made him tick. There wasn’t enough gore and weren’t enough ‘scary’ moments to solidify the horror claim. Perhaps they were going for something subtler – the premise is rather horrifying… but to give the movie that label? I think it’s off base. It sets up a certain level of expectation that the film just isn’t going to deliver on.

This really felt like it was trying to get too cerebral, really.

The one bright spot was that the soundtrack was interesting and fit the mood of the movie well. I will give the movie credit for being more interesting than the atrocious Valley of Love (2015) we reviewed before. At least there’s that.


Languages
Speech Available: French
Subtitles Available: English

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – None
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – None
Metascore - None
Metacritic User Score – None
IMDB Score – 6.5/10

Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating1/5
Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating1/5

Trust-the-Dice’s Parental Advisory Rating: R

Movie Trailer:

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